Literary Devices in Babbitt
Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
Setting
From the beginning (and we mean the very beginning) of Babbitt, you can tell that setting will play a major role in this story. The very first lines read, The towers of Zenith aspired above the mor...
Narrator Point of View
The narrator pretty much sticks to third-person limited, giving us access to Babbitt's thoughts and opinions of the world. Sometimes, the narrator is so close to Babbitt that her/his thoughts almos...
Genre
Not only is Babbitt satire; it's considered one of the best American satires of the 20th century. Some people might read the book and think of it as a realistic or even tragic account of a man...
Tone
It doesn't take long to realize that Sinclair Lewis is exaggerating when he writes that George Babbitt's car "was poetry and tragedy love and heroism" and his business office is "his pirate ship" (...
Writing Style
A big part of Sinclair Lewis' ability to be satirical in his portrait of George Babbitt comes from his ability to write very poetically about stuff that is really, really, mind-numbingly boring. We...
What's Up With the Title?
Sinclair Lewis decided to name his novel Babbitt because its main character, George F. Babbitt, is a symbol for a "type" of modern American whom Lewis wanted to satirize in this book. In fact, when...
What's Up With the Ending?
"But I do get a sneaking pleasure out of the fact that you knew what you wanted to do and did it. Well, those folks in there will try to bully you, and tame you down. Tell 'em to go to the devil! I...
Tough-o-Meter
There really isn't much in this book that should trip you up as a reader, apart from all of the 1920s slang that our protagonist George Babbitt likes to use. So zappy boom mollycoddle gee willikers...
Plot Analysis
A Day in the LifeBy most books' standards, Babbitt has a loooong exposition section (it takes up the first seven, count 'em, seven chapters). The reason for this lengthy exposition is because at it...
Booker's Seven Basic Plots Analysis
Anticipation Stage and "Fall" into the Other WorldWhen we first meet George Babbitt, the guy seems to have a nice, quiet, respectable life. But there's some part of him that's restless and bored. H...
Three-Act Plot Analysis
We meet George F. Babbitt, a semi-wealthy real estate manager who has a typical American life in the 'burbs. He's well-liked by his community and by all his friends. He even starts to rise into the...
Trivia
In 1926, Sinclair Lewis was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his novel Arrowsmith, but he refused it because he didn't like the way the award made a competition out of art. Or maybe he was just bitte...
Steaminess Rating
Yes, there's adultery in this book. And yes, there's a lot of flirting. And a sexy pin-up girl dream fairy. But when he published this book in 1922, Lewis didn't want to give the public any ea...
Allusions
Joseph Hergesheimer, The Three Black Pennys (23.1.5)Boosterism, boosters' clubs (1.4.23, 21.1.1)Rotarians, rotary clubs (21.1.17)American Prohibition (7.4.6)William Hart, actor (19.3.53)